Judges 15:4

Judges 15:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails.
• New International Version (NIV)So he went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail in pairs. He then fastened a torch to every pair of tails,
• English Standard Version (ESV)So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails.

Context of Judges 15:4

2And her father said, I verily thought that thou didst utterly hate her; therefore I gave her to thy companion. Is not her younger sister fairer than she? Let her, I pray thee, be thine instead of her. 3And Samson said to them, This time I am blameless toward the Philistines, though I do them harm. And Samson went and caught three hundred jackals, and took torches, and turned tail to tail, and put a torch in the midst between the two tails. 5And he set the torches on fire, and let [them] run into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, and the olive gardens. 6And the Philistines said, Who has done this? And they answered, Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burned her and her father with fire.

Judges 15:4 word by word

וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ שִׁמְשׁ֔וֹן וַיִּלְכֹּ֖ד שְׁלֹשׁ־מֵא֣וֹת שׁוּעָלִ֑ים וַיִּקַּ֣ח לַפִּדִ֗ים וַיֶּ֤פֶן זָנָב֙ אֶל־זָנָ֔ב וַיָּ֨שֶׂם לַפִּ֥יד אֶחָ֛ד בֵּין־שְׁנֵ֥י הַזְּנָב֖וֹת בַּתָּֽוֶךְ׃Read the interlinear

• Samsonשִׁמְשׁוֹןshimshôn · SamsonH8123
• caughtלָכַדlâkad · to captureH3920
• threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
• hundredמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• tookלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
• torchesלַפִּידlappîyd lappid · torchH3940
• turnedפָּנָהpânâh · to turnH6437
• tailזָנָבzânâb · tailH2180
• putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
• twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147

People and places in Judges 15:4

• Samson

Cross-references for Judges 15:4

• Judges 20:10and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to fetch victuals for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the villany that they have wrought in Israel.
• Ezekiel 13:9And my hand shall be against the prophets that see vanity and that divine lies: they shall not be in the council of my people, neither shall they be written in the register of the house of Israel, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I [am] the Lord Jehovah.
• Ruth 2:15And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and ye shall not reproach her.
• Psalms 63:10They shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be the portion of foxes.
• Lamentations 5:18Because of the mountain of Zion, which is desolate: foxes walk over it.

Commentaries on Judges 15:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Went and caught three hundred foxes - There has been much controversy concerning the meaning of the term שועלים shualim, some supposing it to mean foxes or jackals, and others handfuls or sheaves of corn. Much of the force of the objections against the common version will be diminished by the following considerations: - Foxes, or jackals, are common and gregarious in that country. It is not hinted that Samson collected them alone; he might have employed…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Foxes - Rather, “jackals,” which are still very common in Palestine, especially about Joppa and Gaza. 1 Samuel 13:17 and Joshua 15:28; Joshua 19:3, are indications of the abundance of foxes or jackals giving names to places, especially in the country of the Phililstines. It belongs to Samson‘s character, and agrees with the incident about the lion, that he should be an expert hunter. Ovid relates a very curious custom at Rome of letting loose foxes with…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-5In revenge, Samson destroyed the grain harvest, vineyards, and olive groves.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-54-5. went and caught three hundred foxes--rather, "jackals"; an animal between a wolf and a fox, which, unlike our fox, a solitary creature, prowls in large packs or herds and abounds in the mountains of Palestine. The collection of so great a number would require both time and assistance. took firebrands--torches or matches which would burn slowly, retaining the fire, and blaze fiercely when blown by the wind. He put two jackals together, tail by tail…Read the comment

Topics related to Judges 15:4

• Arson
• Firebrand
• Fox
• Samson

In the dictionaries

• Samson
• Displeasure
• Fast
• Firebrand
• Fox
• Hip
• Visit
• Brand
• Israel, History of
• Judges, Book of

Commentaries on Judges 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings